An Old Married Couple
by Acen Warren Halliwell
Summary: Sequel to "Cardinal Rule". After a rushed wedding and meeting with an old friend, the marriage between Ted and Victoria starts to slowly suffer because of some unresolved issues, but will those things really be able to destroy their marriage or will a miracle help them get back to what they once were? Rated T to be safe.
1. Recap and Intro

**Hey guys, I'm back! I promised you guys a "Cardinal Rule" sequel AGES ago, but I've gotten side-tracked with my other projects, so that stopped me from getting to this for a while. Sorry for making you guys wait, but I finally got started, so that has to count for something, right? If anyone reading this hasn't read "Cardinal Rule", it'd be good to read it because it goes more in depth on the world that this story's set in. So I'm just gonna give a quick recap of Cardinal Rule and give you guys an intro as to what you should expect in the story.**

**"****Cardinal Rule" was set in the alternate universe where Ted and Victoria had switched lives, meaning Victoria went to Wesleyan, became Marshall and Lily's best friends and she met Barney and Robin, while Ted lived out Victoria's life. I also introduced an original character, Ava, that plays a major part in the story as Ted's best friend. Ted discovered that Victoria had cheated on him and broke up with her, leading Victoria (with her friends' help, of course) to try and win him back. After a few failed attempts and a talk with the deep, meaningful Barney, Ted and Victoria end the story engaged.**

**Most of "An Old Married Couple" is about Ted and Victoria's marriage and how it slowly starts to suffer**, **but don't think their friends' lives aren't going to be any easier either since they're gonna have their problems too. With Ted and Victoria's happiness in the line of fire, will they be able to fix their problems before it ends in a divorce or has far too much damage already been done? Let's find out what happens.**


	2. Isn't Marraige the Best?

(Victoria's POV)

I was running down a street, looking back every couple minutes, a look of fear on my face. The wedding dress that I was wearing got caught in the sewer grate and I tried to pull it free, but it wouldn't budge. I looked up and saw the mysterious shadow coming closer to me. I tried to pull free again, but again, it wouldn't budge. "No, no, no, no, no!" I said, as the shadow came closer. "No, no…"

"NO!" I screamed, instantly waking up from the nightmare. I looked around and saw that I was in **the** house. "Why put emphasis on it?" you ask; well, if you must know this my and Ted's house, our first house since we got married. Yup, Victoria Moseby is a married woman… granted, we've only been married for about 6 months and the wedding was a tad rushed with Robin going abroad for a few months after (that and us losing our payment on the bodega that same day), but I'm happy with this because I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world. Isn't marriage just the best idea ever?

Anywho, I got up from the couch and turned off the TV before taking out the scary movie that I specifically told Ted **not **to put in because I'd have a nightmare, but oh well. I walked back to the couch and laid down next to my husband, Theodore Evelyn Moseby, laying my head on his chest and snuggling in nice and tight. I closed my eyes and dosed off, falling asleep with the man of my dreams.

* * *

(Ava's POV)

Ted and I were just sitting at the booth in McLaren's, when Victoria rushed up to us wearing a red polka-dotted dress and white heels. She asked, "Where is he?" She then noticed Ted and hopped in his lap, before kissing him furiously.

"EWW! God guys, get a room." I said, trying to shield my eyes from their hideous display of PDA. They stopped kissing for a moment and Ted said, "You wouldn't be saying that if Barney were here."

"And speak of the devil." Victoria said as my boyfriend walked into the bar.

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about!" I said, offended. Victoria simply shrugged and began kissing Ted again with even more vigor than before. "Hey Barney." I called out to him. He waved at me and then I'm assuming he saw their nauseating because he made a disgusted face and would've left the bar, had I not ran up to him and pulled him back to the booth.

Ted and Victoria stopped kissing and she "noticed" him for the first time, sliding off Ted's lap and in the seat next to him. She wiped off some excess lip stick with her pinky finger and then said, "What's up, Swarles Barkley?" The three of us quickly snicker at the long running joke. Instead of getting upset like Barney normally does, he's smiling and that could only mean that something isn't right.

"I'm just hanging with my amazing girlfriend." He then question-complimented, "Isn't she just the most amazing girl you know?"

I turned to Barney. "Are you okay? How many sandwiches have you eaten in the past 24 hours?"

"I haven't eaten any sandwiches." He answered.

"Then what do you want, hone?"

"My mom's in town and I was hoping she could stay at your house." Ted and Victoria exchanged a knowing glance.

"What?!" No offense, Barney's mom is okay, but she HATES me! Loretta's always saying things like "Why are you always with him? Get a life of your own" and "You know, when I was your age, we actually treated our men well". My internal response to that is "Well, sorry Loretta, but it's not 1923 anymore", but in all actuality, I just smile and awkwardly take another sip of my tea or hot cocoa or whatever she made that day. And Barney's oblivious to it also, so that makes it 20 times worse; he's always insisting that me and Loretta "just need to bond" and that she'll "learn to love me over time", but I doubt that we'll ever be able to really get along because she's a prude and she wants me out of Barney's life! Pretty safe to say that my relationship with Loretta isn't the best.

"Barney, why would you invite her to New York when you know I need to renovate the house?" I asked.

"She needed somewhere to stay because she has a termite infestation."

"Well, send her to your place then!"

"I can't send her to the Fortress of Barnitude, she'd make me get rid of it."

"What about Ted and-?"

"Nope." The Mosebys refused together, shaking their head at me.

"Marshall and Lily?"

"I already called them and they refused. Robin's still in Saudi Arabia, so she's out. Guess that only leaves you." I pouted, knowing I was defeated. "Hey," Barney hugged me, "It's only for a week… and a half, but it'll be over soon, I promise. Swing by my apartment later today, I have a surprise for you."

"Fine."

"Thanks." Barney kissed the top of my head and gets up to leave.

"Wait, where you going?" I asked, getting up to follow him out.

"Back to work. See ya."

"Later." I said, giving him a kiss.

"Alright, see ya." Barney exited the bar, leaving me with the husband and wife.

* * *

(Ted's POV)

"I love you." I said to Victoria.

"I love being married to you." She said back to me. We were sitting on the couch in the house, being an absolutely nauseating couple, but it's okay to be that way for 8 months when you get married, so I got two more months of this thing right here.

"I love how I can say anything to you."

"I love talking to you."

"I love staring into your eyes. They're so amazing."

"You're amazing." Victoria started to stand up on her knees on the couch, lust filling her eyes.

"No, you're amazing." I said back, moving in towards her. We began kissing and after a minute, stopped. "Let's take this to the bedroom." I said, picking my wife up and kissing her all the way up the stairs and to our room. I closed the door on our way in and threw her down on the bed. We started doing it and about halfway in, all I heard was a knock on the door. I just ignored it and kept going, but it persisted, getting louder and louder each time.

Eventually, Victoria and I just had to stop what we were doing (much to our discontent) to answer the door. We put on our robes and went downstairs. I opened the door and a surprised Victoria asked, "Klaus?"

"Hey Vickie." The guy, whose name was apparently Klaus, said.

"Who's this?" I asked Victoria.

She turned to me and paused before saying, "This is Klaus… my ex-husband."


	3. Venturing Into Troubled Waters

(Klaus's POV)

"Your ex-husband?" The guy with Victoria asked.

"Yes Ted, my **ex**-husband." The woman answered, "Meaning not anymore. He was my past; you're my present and my future."

She then gave him a passionate kiss, which he started to get into, and before seeing something I truly didn't want to see happen, I said, "I came to talk Victoria."

They pulled away and Ted said to me, "Right. So what brings you to the Moseby Household?"

"Moseby Household?" I asked Victoria with a pained look on my face, "You got married again?"

"I've moved on, it's time you did too." She spoke in a tone I'd never heard before.

"But what about everything we've been through?" I tried to argue, "It's only been three months since-."

"Stop!" She held up a hand and silenced me, just like Trudy used to. "The past is the past, I've moved on. Now you had something to say?"

"Right, right." I composed myself.

"Come inside." She led me in and whispered something to Ted. He nodded before heading up the stairs, leaving Victoria and me alone to chat.

"How could you just remarry like that?" I practically yelled.

After closing the door, she looked at me, seemingly angered by my presence. "I told you never to come back to New York, Klaus!" She screamed, "Why did you come back here?"

"I don't know, how you just remarry given our history?"

"**History! **That's the key word in that phrase: history! We're history. And everything we've gone through: history! Sure everything that happened made me who I am, but we are done, we were done for years Klaus!"

"Well just because we're finished doesn't mean you can just up and marry the next guy you see on the street!" I argued.

"I didn't meet him on the street."

"Then where'd you meet him? At Bean Scene? In the park, huh? Where? Where did you meet the guy that you just got with to get me out of your life?"

"At a wedding." She murmured. "But just because we met at a wedding doesn't mean I had on…"

"WEDDING GOGGLES!" I finished for her. Feeling myself at the edge, I yelled, "You met him at a freaking wedding, Victoria. You can't expect it to last."

"He's my husband and I love him." She defended that sorry sack of a "husband", if you can call him that anyway.

"As much as you loved me?" I asked coldly.

"Get out." She growled, her voice immediately growing low. I sensed I struck a nerve, but me being the stubborn person I am, I defied.

"No."

"Get out of my house, Klaus." She ordered, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm not going anywhere." I stood firm.

"I said get-."

"SHUT UP!" I smacked her with the back of my hand, knocking her down to the ground. The sound that resonated from my hand striking her cheek was loud and I could tell I hit her hard because all I could see was blood coming from the spot where I hit her.

* * *

(Victoria's POV)

"I said get-." I started, when I heard, "SHUT UP!" and felt something hard strike me. I fell to the carpeted living room floor and looked up at Klaus, who was huffing. I put my hand to my cheek and felt something liquid. I removed it and looked to see blood. Ted rushed down the stairs and within seconds, I saw my husband staring down my ex.

"How dare you hit her?!" Ted yelled, fury evident in his face.

I looked between the two, feeling the tension build. I rose to my feet in an instant and got in between the two of them, trying to break them up. "Now guys, how about we just calm down? You know, talk this out like civilized adults and-."

…

I sat up and realized I was in the bed. _How in the world did I get here? _I asked myself, _Wasn't I just downstairs? _I tried to get out of the bed and the moment I stood, I fell back down, feeling a pain on my side. I stood, wincing all the while, and walked to the bathroom, which was right next to the bed. I looked in the mirror and felt as if I was about to cry; I was hideous, a bloodied lip and cheek and black eye being my make-up. I instantly felt a memory surface…

"Please Klaus, I swear, I didn't cheat!" Victoria cried.

"I saw you with him!" Klaus screamed angrily.

"Klaus, I've been loyal to you!"

"That's bullshit and you know it!" He then smacked Victoria and she fell to the ground. She started crying softly and Klaus said coldly, "Go on, cry. Cry you little bitch! This is what you get for not being loyal to me!"

"I-I'm te-telling you I wa-was!" The terrified woman hiccupped, tears flood down her cheeks

"Well I don't trust anything you say!" Klaus struck Victoria again and again and again. He grabbed her by her waist…

I snapped out of the memory, as I felt my waist being grabbed, and screamed as turned around to the assailant, stopping once I saw who it was. "Ted?"

"You okay Victoria? Why are you crying?" My husband asked, concern making up his features.

I sniffled, wiping away my tears, "It's no reason; I'm fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I reassured, "but what happened after you came downstairs? I just woke up on the bed."

"You tried to break us up, Klaus hit you, I beat him up and got him out, and then I carried you up to the bed."

"Well, where'd you go?"

"I just had to go for a walk; clear my mind, you know? Now get some rest, I'll be downstairs if you need me." Ted headed for the door.

"Oh and Ted."

"Yes?" He turned back to me.

"Don't go after Klaus."

"But he-."

"Don't go after Klaus." I repeated.

He sighed before saying, "Fine, I promise I won't go after Klaus, but you need to tell our friends about this."

"No way!" I refused. I couldn't have anyone finding out about how Klaus abused me; it's bad enough that Ted knows.

"They need to know, it's only right."

"I'll think about it." I said, deciding to satisfy the pleading man.

"Thank you." He exited the room and I walked back to the bed and plopped down on it, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about what I was going to do with Klaus.

* * *

(Ava's POV)

"He what?" I cried through the phone, shocked at what Ted just told me.

"He hit her. And I don't think it was the first time this happened either."

"So you're saying that Victoria was getting abused by this guy long before this happened?"

"I think."

"But Victoria said not to tell anyone. Why do I know?"

"Because you're my best friend, Ava."

"Ted, this is one heck of a secret you're telling me and Victoria trusted _you _with it, not us. Remember what happened with Stella?" Stella was a girl that left Ted at the altar for her ex-husband a while back. She told him that she hadn't had sex ever since she had her daughter Lucy and Ted told me about it. Eventually, Stella did find out that Ted told me and he was in hot water with her for a while; they didn't break up though.

"Of course I remember what happened with Stella."

"Do you want that to happen with your wife too? I know you don't want to get a divorce Ted. Do you?"

"Of course not, I love her."

"Then don't tell anyone else what you told me and you have nothing to worry about. Now I gotta go, I'm at Barney's."

"Later."

"Later." I hung up the phone and knocked on the door. Barney answered almost instantly, smiling.

"How's my favorite girl in the world?"

"Favorite for now, anyway." I said under my breath.

"What's that mean?"

"Nothing." I said quickly. "Is Loretta here?"

"Not yet, but she's on her way to your place."

"And you had me come here why?" I dropped my purse on his couch. I looked around the room and my eyes landed on his stormtrooper… okay, wrong kind of stormtrooper (but now that I'm thinking about it… okay no, this is supposed to be PG). I mean, Barney has a life-sized stormtrooper from Star Wars in his living room. I looked at the weapon that the overgrown doll had in his hand. If only that thing worked, so I could use it on Loretta. You know, if I find a guy, I could definitely get that thing working… okay, getting off topic, getting way off topic. Anyway, Barney looked at me.

"I brought you here because I need your opinion on something."

"Yes Barney?"

"I need to see if you…" the man reached into his suit pocket while speaking and was burrowing for something. This is the big moment, the one where he pops the question! Okay, I know Barney and I have only been dating for a year and a half, but I really love him and this is perfect timing considering that there may be another thing that he popped out. "…like this program I designed for the dinner tonight." He took out a schedule and handed it to me. My face fell instantly.

* * *

(Lily's POV)

"Marshall, I'm at work." I said through the receiver, while sketching something down on a piece of paper.

"Marvin's hungry Lil," Marshall said, "and I can't make milk."

"Then get some out of the fridge." I said, putting down my pencil and looking at my drawing. My baby boy, Marvin, was born 7 months ago and named after Marshall's father. I truly wished I could just spend every waking moment with the little angel, but seeing as Marshall lost both his job and father 5 months ago, I'm the sole source of income. I've been wanting to pursue a career as an artist ever since college, but I haven't really had time to draw or paint or anything, so I devised a little method: while the kids were napping (which last for about an hour), I'd be drawing non-stop. I was satisfied with the abstract piece of art I'd made; as soon as I get home, I'll have to paint this on a canvas in the art studio I made out of Ted's old room.

"Ms. Aldridge?" I looked up and saw one of my kindergarteners, Kylie, sitting up and looking at me.

"Yes?"

"Can I stay up with you? I can't sleep." I looked at the brunette and remember when that was me; granted her dad wasn't the source of her insomnia, but I sympathized with her and needed her to get back to sleep. There were still 15 minutes left and I intended to put them to good use.

"You can't stay up." I said, standing and walking over to the cubbies near the front door. "But how about I get your blankey to help you sleep? Would that help?"

The little girl nodded and I got the light blue coverlet out of her cubby. As I was turning around, the blanket went under my foot and the instant I started to walk, I flew forward, hitting my eye.

…

"Is she going to be okay?" Marshall asked Ava.

"She's going to be fine, Marshall; although, she's damaged her corneas. Until we can find a replacement, I'm sorry to say that Lily's is blind."

"Blind? No, no, no. She can't be! Without her, we'll be evicted; I'm not working right now."

"Marshall, file a worker's comp claim and file it with the teacher's union; they'll give you money for her injuries, she was hurt on the job. Now, I have to get back to work. As for Lily, I suggest getting her a walking stick and a Seeing Eye dog." I heard footsteps start to fade and assumed it was Ava leaving.

"Marshall?" I asked, scared. I felt a manly hand grab my own.

"Yeah?"

"What now?"

"I guess we go to city hall tomorrow. Talk about what happened."

"What about you? What about Marvin? I want to see my baby grow up."

"An-and you will, I promise. We just need to find a donor who's willing to donate."

"That might take some time, though." Ted said. "How many people do you know are just willing to do something like that?"

"We'll find someone."

* * *

(Victoria's POV)

"Poor Lil." Ted said to me, us having plopped onto the bed. We were propped up on our hands and looking at each other.

"Yeah, I know; I hope they find a donor quickly. I don't think I'd be able to stand being blind; I wouldn't be able to see you as often. Or kiss you whenever I wanted to or anything." I said.

"You're sweet." He gave me a quick kiss and looked me straight in the eyes after we separated. The air then felt thicker and I knew what this was gonna be about. "Have you decided yet?"

"No. I mean, no I don't want to tell them." I sat up and moved to the headboard. Ted scooched over to me and put an arm on my shoulder.

"Why not?" My husband asked. "This is a serious thing Victoria. You've been getting abused by him for months at a time."

"Who told you?" I asked quickly. "Was it Robin?"

"Robin? You told her?"

"It kinda slipped."

"Then why not tell the others?"

"Because I don't want the whole gang finding out at a time like this. I mean, with Lily's clinical blindness, Marshall out of work and Ava trying to get Barney to propose, it doesn't seem like the right time."

"Wait, Ava wants Barney to propose?"

"Yeah, she thinks she's pregnant. Now as I was saying, I don't-."

"She _thinks_?" Ted looked straight at me. "She hasn't taken a test yet? Does Barney know?"

"He doesn't know anything and Ava doesn't want a false positive. Now can we please get back to me?"

"Right. I think that everyone should know. This is a serious thing and it's not healthy for you to just keep it in like this; Klaus made you so afraid. When I touched you, it's like I didn't even know who you were. Victoria, you need to get help."

"I can do this on my own!" I snapped, standing immediately. "I don't need to tell anyone anything because I can deal with this _on my own_." I stormed out and Ted raced after me.

* * *

(Robin's POV)

"This is Robin Scherbatsky saying good night and good news."

"And we're clear!" The cameraman, Mike, said. The fake smile I was holding dropped immediately and I all but downed my coffee. God was I tired! It's not like I don't love working in the news as a reporter, but it's been so tiring lately. At least I have Don to cheer me up. Don is my boyfriend. We've been going steady for a good couple months now and although Don and I both have busy workloads (He's a district attorney), we still make time for each other. He's been on a business trip for the last week, but he's coming back today and you know what that means: amazing "honey, I'm home!" sex. Hey, a girl can't horny every once in a while?

"I'm going home." I said, standing and exiting the set.

…

I was watching some corny romantic comedy on the couch, when I felt arms wrap around me. "What you watching?"

"Not important." I responded as I turned around and kissed Don. Within seconds, we were on the bed and I was already half naked. My pulse quickened and passion took over. "Take off your pants!" I ordered, already breathless. The lawyer obeyed and we began, my riding the D train for like an hour. I was gasping and felt myself about to climax. I was screaming Don's name louder and louder as I neared the finish. My eyes shut as I gasped and released. An image flashed across my mind, but not of me and Don, but of me and Ted. _Oh shit! I said._


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I really truly am, but I was kind of in a bit of a funk on how to end this chapter (which explains the way it ended). With no further ado, here's the chapter.**

(Ted's POV)

"Victoria, please pick up the phone." I pleaded to the voicemail as I paced around the bedroom. Victoria's been gone for hours and none of the others said they saw her. This is the thirteenth…? Fourteenth…? I left her a lot of voicemails okay! "I'm really worried and I just… I need to talk to you. Just come back and I promise I'll never bring up Klaus again; I swear!" My phone beeped and I checked it, seeing that it was on 2%. "Gotta go, but please call when you get this. Later." I hung up the phone and put in on my charger before plopping down on the bed. I let out an exasperated sigh. I felt so helpless! I'm her husband for Christ's sake! I should be able to help her through this, let her know she's not alone, but she doesn't want my help; there's nothing I can do without my entire marriage being destroyed in the process. I just-. There was a knock at the door. Another knock. "Coming, coming." I dragged myself off the divan and to the door. I opened it and there stood the one person I didn't want to see: Klaus. "What are you doing here after what you did?"

"Not going to welcome me in, Moseby?" Klaus feigned pain. "I'm so hurt."

"You'll get hurt if you don't get away from my door. You hit Victoria and you had no right to do that!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Klaus waved a dismissive hand as he welcomed himself in. "Where is Vickie, anyway?"

"She's not here." I answered with the coldest of tones. "What do you care?"

"Because I need her help."

"She'd never help you."

"Not even if it involved her sister?" He looked at my troubled face. "Ah, I got you."

"What's wrong with Melanie?"

"Legal trouble. Victoria needs to testify to keep her out of jail."

"What's she being charged with?"

"Grand larceny, fraud, a couple other stuff too."

"No way! Melanie would never do something like that! Not that big!"

"Have you met Melanie?"

"I have and I know that she _wouldn't _do something like that. Victoria made her swear that she wouldn't."

(Victoria's POV)

"I don't know what to do!" I exclaimed frustrated. "I don't want to tell Ted what went on between Klaus and me, but at the same time, I don't want to lose him because of the past!" I plummeted onto the bed. "What do I do Ave?" I asked my friend, helpless. We were in her loft in Nolita district. Little Italy's just south of us, so instead of calling this place "North of Little Italy", we just use the acronym.

"I don't know what to tell you." Ava said as she comforted me. "This is between you and Ted and I'm sorry to say it, but you're pushing him away. Eventually, he's going to give up. I know him."

"Do you honestly think so?"

"Yes he will. If you keep pushing him away, if you keep storming out, if you refuse to tell him what's going on, you're going to lose him. I know you will, because it's happened before. I saw it right in front of my eyes."

"Then how do I keep him? I love him and I don't want to lose him."

"Tell him everything."

"I-I can't. It hurts too much to remember." I began to cry. "By the way, how are things going with Loretta? I heard she came in yesterday."

"Terrible." Ava groaned, dropping onto the bed and rolling her eyes. "Loretta's been trying to force me out and she's only been here for a few hours."

"How?"

"Well, for one she tried to take over my kitchen when I was making dinner. Then she just hops on the toilet while Barney and I were… 'taking a shower'."

"Okay, ew."

"Long story short, Loretta hates my guts and it's even worse that Barney doesn't see it. I mean, if he _is_ a father and Loretta tells him that it's not his and he shouldn't care for her, will he leave me?" Her voice broke as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

"No, no, no honey. He wouldn't. He loves you too much; you two are meant for each other."

"I just can't stop worrying that that witch of a woman will force him to leave."

"You're her son's girlfriend and eventually, you're going to be her daughter in law. A child will be a blessing."

"Try telling that to the she-devil sleeping in _my _bed."

"I thought you never moved in."

"I was about to when he brought in the only thing that'll bring about our demise. I need to find some way to push him back to me and away from Loretta."

"Want me to talk to him?"

"Want me to talk to Ted?"

"Touché. But Ava, you need to move in. Show Loretta that you're here to stay… or you could go to the clinic and find out if you're pregnant."

"But how desperate would that look? Getting pregnant just to keep a man? I can't do that."

"Then what's the plan? Need me to bring in the rest of Crown's Angels?" After watching _Charlie's Angels_, I kinda got obsessed and headed a group with my sister, Melanie, and my best friend, Trudy. Trudy eventually married Klaus, but I kinda got in the way of that. It was an accident though, I swear! I'd apologize if I could, but I can't find her.

"We don't need the Angels to get involved. Besides, where's Charlie? Don't you get your assignments from him?"

"That's devil's outta my life for good." I stood. "Thanks for letting me charge my phone. It was totally tapped." I grabbed my phone from off the charger and saw that I had two voicemails: one from Ted and another from The Devil himself. "He's at my house!?"

"Who? Klaus?"

"Yup. Sorry Ava, I gotta go." I started for the door, but the instant I stepped outside I was surprised her boyfriend wearing an awfully somber face. "Barney." I made my surprise visible. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Ava thinks she's pregnant?"

(Robin's POV)

"Hey baby." I said as I kissed Don. "Um, can we talk?"

"Yeah sure." He said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong, I promise."

"Then what'd you want to tell me?"

"I got a job offer… in Washington."

"Washington? Well, are you going to take it?"

"I was thinking about it, but I don't want to leave you, leave this, because what we have is great, it's great. And, I think the distance would ruin it. What do you think I should do?"

"Um… I need some time to think about this. Can I get back to you?"

"Sure. I don't need to have a decision till the end of the week." Don walked off towards our bedroom and I leaned back into the couch. My eyes closed for not even a second and an image of me and Ted popped in my head. What is going on with me? I love Don; if I didn't, I wouldn't be telling him that I got this amazing offer, that I don't want to leave him! Or am I using Don as an excuse to get away from Ted? Wait, no! Ted is a _married man_. There's no way me and him could ever happen again, especially not since he's married to my friend.

I can't, not alone. I took out my phone and dialed the one person I knew could help me. "Hey. I need your help."

(Marshall's POV)

"Marshall, baby, where are we going?" Lily asked as I led her through the streets of Manhattan.

"We're going to get you a seeing-eye dog. As much as it kills me to say it, you're blind, but until we can find a donor, you need to be able to walk around without bumping into stuff, so here we are." I said as I entered a store. The manager came up to us. He was blond and wearing a red apron with the words, "Puppies R Us", and the slogan "Helping the blind see the light since 1988".

"Hi. You need a seeing-eye dog for your wife?" The man asked, a smile on his face.

"Yes, I do. See I'm out of work right now and she's, well, she's blind. Is there any way you can cut us a deal?"

"Let me see what I can do. Follow me." The man began walking through the store, Lily and I in tow. We passed a collection of dogs, all of which were yapping happily. I stopped and saw a black and dirty Pomeranian curled up in its cage. He looked at me with fearful eyes and I knelt down to the dog.

"Who's this?" I asked the shopkeep.

"This is Ian; we just got him actually. Rescued him from getting hit by a car. He was just wandering the streets."

"Aw. Think we can get him?"

"Well, how much do you have?"

"Let's see. I have…" I rummaged through my pockets, pulling out several crumpled up bills, coins and a stick of gum. "$18. I'm sorry for wasting your time; I knew this was a bad idea." I grabbed Lily's hand and began to walk away, defeated, when the manager yelled out, "Wait! I'll let you have him, but you have to promise me that you'll pay me the $300 this dog is worth the instant you get the money. Deal?"

"I promise. Thank you so much."

"No problem." He smiled before taking Ian out of the cage. "Let me just take him to the back to get cleaned up and I'll bring him out with some accessories." The man began a trek to the back of the store and I looked at Lily.

"Looks like you got your seeing-eye dog."

(Victoria's POV)

"Ava thinks she's pregnant?" Barney questioned. "How could she not tell me?"

"Because she's not sure. Look, Barney, you _cannot _tell her that you know. Do you understand me?"

"Well, why won't she get a test? I need to know if I'm actually a dad!"

"I know you do, but wait. Just don't say anything. Promise me."

"I promise."

"Okay. Now I have to go." I started past the blonde, when I turned back to him, saying, "If you really want to be a dad, then you need to show her that you'll _always _be there for her."

"Of course I will. I love her."

"More than your mother? Loretta's pushing Ava away or at least, Ava thinks that. Show her that she'll always be in your life, no matter what. I'll see you later." I left Barney to contemplate.

…

"Klaus Frignor, where the hell are you?!" I yelled angrily, slamming open my front door.

"Victoria!" My husband and ex yelled simultaneously.

"Victoria, where have you been? I've been trying to call you for hours now."

"I was at Ava's." I responded. "My phone died. What's _he _doing here?"

"I wanted to talk." Klaus stepped up.

"I have _nothing_ to talk about with you."

"But I have something to-."

"No!" I screamed. "Get out! Right now."

"Fine, fine." He held up his hands in surrender. "I'll go." He said one last thing before his exit, directed at Ted, "Don't forget what we talked about." The door closed and I turned to my husband.

"What did you and Klaus talk about?"

"Melanie. He said that she got in some really big trouble, but I doubt that it really happened." A pause before he began, "So…"

"Do you want me to walk out again?"

He made a frustrated sigh. "No, I don't. And, you don't have to tell the others. At least tell me."

"Ted!"

"I'm your husband, Victoria. Don't I have a right to know?"

"Yes, but there are things that you just can't tell anyone."

"You told Robin pretty easily."

"Ted, stop! Just let it go. Please." I walked up the stairs, quickly running the water and hopping into the bath. I lay back, my head resting on the back of the tub as my eyes slowly shut. I saw something: a fist flying forward. I jumped, my eyes snapping open. _I need to get some rest; get Klaus out of my mind. _I quickly got out before dressing and falling on my side onto the queen-sized bed Ted and I share.

"I'm sorry." I heard his voice. I kept my back turned away from him. "Victoria." Something flashed in my head: a forceful shove of my shoulder from behind. The visual was immediately followed by action and I shot up before pushing the man back. Ted slammed his back against the wall, a picture frame of me and him at the reception crashing on the floor. The glass shattered and the frame was cracked.

"Oh my god! Ted!" I ran over to him. "I'm sorry. I saw something and I…"

"It's fine." Ted stood. His phone vibrated and he picked it up, shortly before closing it. "Hey, I'm gonna head out for a little bit, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you then." He gave me a quick kiss before exiting, leaving me alone with my demons.

(Ted's POV)

I had just gotten to Robin's place and was sitting down on her couch. "Hey," I said, "what's wrong? You sounded pretty confused on the phone."

"Well, I had gotten a job offer in Washington. I wasn't sure if I should take it." She answered. "I don't want to leave because there's someone really important to me here…"

"Don, of course." I responded as the thought popped in my head. "You don't want to leave without him."

Robin went along with it. "Sure." She hesitated before saying, "But… there are more people that I don't want to leave behind: Barney, Ava, Lily… you." Her eyes locked with mine and I saw something within them; longing, pining for something, but what?

"If you feel like you have something to stay for, why leave?"

"Because I feel like I need to leave." Robin shot up. "I mean I don't want to leave but I feel like I have to. If I don't leave, I'll ruin _everything._"

"Ruin what? Robin, what are you scared of ruining?"

She looked at me before saying, "Nothing! Nothing! You should probably go get back to Victoria. I'll see you later." She then ushered me out before slamming the door in my face.

**A.N. Sorry for ending the chapter like this guys and sorry this chapter went down the way it did too. Once again, I was kinda in a funk about where to go with this and I didn't want too much big stuff to happen this early in the story. Problems between Ted and Victoria are coming up, Victoria and Robin drama, and maybe a little Marshall and Lily drama, not sure yet. If you have anything that you'd want to see happen, any ideas for characters to introduce, problems that I should bring up for them, anything at all, please don't hesitate to PM me. Lord knows I need it. But aside from that, I'll try to be quicker in getting chapters to you guys in the future. Thanks for the wait!**


End file.
